Calm Before The Storm
by toooldtotrickortreat
Summary: Peter is at the Avengers base when a storm hits and his 'heightened senses' become more apparent. (Tom Holland/MCU Spider-Man. Oneshot)


Peter Parker's leg bounced up and down as he sat in a chair opposite Tony Stark. Unlike Tony, who was reclined all the way back into the leather cushioning, Peter sat hunched over with his elbows rested against his knees.

"You sure none of the others are here?" Peter asked for what seems like the millionth time, glancing over his shoulder at the door nervously. Tony rolled his eyes but chose not to make fun of the kid for wanting to keep his identity a secret, even after all this time.

"Rhodey is, but he's in the gym working on getting around with his legs," Tony replied, his voice holding the same nonchalance as it usually did, despite that laid-back feeling being probably the opposite of what he really felt lately. "And if he comes in, he'll have to knock and let me know, so you can just put the mask on. It's fine, kid."

Peter glanced at the mask in his gloved hands, looked back up at the billionaire and nods. Though he had recently become more used to hanging around Tony Stark, aka Iron Man aka a freaking genius who just so happened to be one of his biggest inspirations for science, Peter still felt a bit out of place. Tony's office, where they were sitting, was undoubtedly the same size as his aunt's apartment in Queens. The whole Avengers base was so sophisticated Peter just felt like a complete outsider, even though he was only kind of one. Sure, he wasn't an Avenger, but the others regarded Spider-Man with respect and something bordering on friendliness. He didn't know how that made him feel. But he wasn't going to reveal his identity no matter how nice they were. Not yet, anyway.

"I should, uh, probably get going," Peter finally spoke up, beginning to yank his mask over his face when a clap of thunder sounds in the distance. Peter visibly jumped, but Tony just spun around to face the floor to ceiling window and made a brief humming sound.

"Apparently not," he stated. "You can't go swinging home in that. You'll just get yourself electrocuted. I'll call your aunt and tell her you're staying until the storm clears up."

"But-"

"You're staying!"

Peter huffed as Tony opened his phone to call his aunt. Even though Aunt May had found out about the whole Peter-being-Spider-Man thing and had eventually accepted it, he didn't want to just keep leaving her at home by herself. Things had been awkward at best when she first found out. She became distance, and it was only when Peter came home with deep cuts across his arm and chest that she blew up. It took a while, but things were finally starting to go back to normal - as normal as they could be. But constantly ditching her wasn't going to help with that.

"She's cool with it," Tony announced, dropping the sleek object onto the glass desk rather carelessly. Peter doubted she was 'cool with it' - more like she just didn't want him getting electrocuted. "So, we don't have anything to do and you can't go patrolling. You get to relax, kid. What do you wanna do?"

Peter shrugged, his spider-sense niggling at the back of his mind. Not telling him that he was in danger - or being at all helpful - but it kept him tense. "I don't-" he began to say when more thunder sounded, significantly closer than before. This time, Tony saw the flinch. Just as he decided that Peter had only been caught off guard, a series of claps of thunder sounded for over ten seconds, and it sounded almost deafening to Tony. Peter, on a different note, gasped and clasped his hands over his ears.

"Kid?" Tony asked nervously, getting to his feet. "Hey, kid, you alright?" _Well that was a dumb question. Of course he's not alright you dumbass._

Peter cautiously dropped his hands and looked up. "Y-Yeah, I, uh, I think so-" But as he was talking, lightning flashed outside and thunder sounded all at the same time, meaning the storm must be above them. Peter's hands immediately flew up again and he closed his eyes, which crinkled around the sides from the pressure.

"What's happening, kid?" Tony questioned anxiously, raising his own hand to rest on Peter's shoulder reassuringly. But before he even could, the teenager scrambled off the chair and hid under the desk.

"I don't-" Tony began to mutter when realisation finally struck. Back before Germany when Tony had gone to recruit the kid in the first place, Peter had mentioned too much sensory input - that his senses had been 'dialled to eleven', which was why the lenses of his suit were so ridiculously tuned down to the point of not being able to see anything for the unenhanced eye. That meant visual, audio, feelings, everything was too much at the best of times. That explained why Peter had dodged Tony's hand and was currently in a state of breakdown under the table. Sensory overload. Although Tony had only experienced it once or twice in his lifetime, he knew it was a bitch, but this kid was probably having to deal with it every day.

"FRIDAY, turn off the lights and block out the windows," the billionaire directed over the thunder which, whilst starting to fade, had only slightly gone down and it was clear that the kid was still overwhelmed. The AI fulfilled the request immediately, and soon the room was filled only with the dim glow of the lightbulbs from outside the room.

Light stopped flashing from behind Peter's eyelids and he opened them minutely for a second, and slowly let them fully open. The sound still made his brain feel like it was going to explode, though, so he didn't stop clamping his palms against his ears. He looked over to Tony, who simply opened the door and gestured for him to follow. Hesitantly, he rose and walked close behind Tony, keeping his head down.

Luckily, they didn't run into anyone, and quickly made their way to the basement into a dark, soundproof room. The moment Tony shut the door, Peter felt like he could breathe again and dropped to the ground, no longer blocking his ears.

"I-I'm sorry about, you know, that," he said quietly, trying to keep his breathing normal and only kind of failing. Not only did he basically have a breakdown, but he just _had_ to do it in front of his freaking idol! This was even worse than that mistaken hug when Tony and Happy had taken him back home after the airport fiasco.

"It's not your fault, kid," Tony sighed, sitting down on the floor a few feet away from Peter. "You didn't _ask_ to get spider-powers, and even if you did it's not like you would have signed up for overloaded senses. How do you deal with that anyway? New York's not exactly quiet and you certainly don't get overwhelmed all the time."

"I usually have my earphones on me," Peter explained, refusing to make eye contact with the other man due to the sheer embarrassment he felt. "Like on the subway and stuff. Yeah it's loud, but so is everything. And being able to focus on only one constant sound is a lot easier than ten, or something sporadic like thunder. The lightning flashes aren't super helpful either."

Tony had to stop himself from cringeing sympathetically, because he doubted the kid would appreciate it. "Well, at least it's not completely unheard of," he suggested lightly. Peter looked at him with pure confusion. "You know, photosensitivity and sensory overload? Stuff like that?"

"Oh," Peter responded glumly, looking down. "Yeah." Now it was Tony's turn to be confused. Sure, dealing with that kind of thing on a regular basis had to suck, but he didn't expect the kid to be so down about it.

"What's the problem?" he asked, but it was less of a question and more of a sigh. Peter stared at him and Tony scooted slightly closer. "C'mon, kid. You can talk to me. I know it must suck, but what's keeping you so down about it?"

"It's just that I have to be really careful about what I do," he responded. At first, Peter's words were drawn out, but as he spoke they became faster. "Like, not just with patrol but with pretty much everything. I can't go to an action movie because the lights are too flashy and the bass is too loud. School assemblies are literally hell on earth with all the yelling, and police headlights in the middle of the night hurt so much I want to scratch my eyes out." This time, Tony _did_ cringe.

"Don't feel sorry for me," Peter said immediately, now turning to face Tony. His legs were pulled up against his chest and he rested his chin against his knees. He looked so small, it just reinforced the fact that he was just a teenager, not even sixteen yet.

"I think you overestimate my character, Mr Parker," Tony responded immediately. He wasn't one to get all emotional and mopey, especially not over something like this. Then again, he had grown fond of the kid, and didn't want to see him struggle. It was kind of ridiculous, really. He'd been working with the Avengers for years which ended horrifically, but he'd only known this kid a few months and that bond was stronger than with any of his teammates, perhaps even Rhodey. "Can't you just, like, make special glasses or hearing aids or whatever?"

"Don't you think I've tried?" the kid asked, and _God_ he sounded tired. Actually, exhausted was probably the word. Not just in the not-sleeping-enough sense, either, although that may have been a contributing factor. It was more of a mental exhaustion which Tony, as well as every other Avenger, knew first-hand, but a kid should _not_ have to deal with that. "I've tried, but I just can't get anything to work. I don't exactly have enough time to really put effort into it, though. Sure, the lenses in the suit work, but I can't exactly go around wearing goggles or something. And there's too much sound even with the mask anyway."

"Maybe I'll take a shot," Tony stated before even considering his words. Peter instantly perked up, but it only lasted for a moment before he hesitated.

"Are you sure?" he mumbled. "You don't really have to go to the trouble."

"Nonsense," Tony scoffed. "It's not like I have anything better to do. And I'm willing to take on a challenge."

Peter grinned. "Thanks, Mr Stark."

"Oh, no," Tony joked lightheartedly, waving his hands. "I'm not doing this for you. I just don't want you rocking back and forth under my desk again." Tony stood up and walked to the other side of the room, but Peter just watched him with a smirk. He knew that genuine concern was there, and it was too amusing to ruin.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed! Whilst I'm in no way an expert and this depiction of sensory overload can't possibly be true for everyone, I do know what it's like in my own experience of being overwhelmed by too much sound and my own coping mechanism of putting in earphones. I hope that what I described is okay and that the story was alright. Bye~


End file.
